10 | Saturday, November 18, 2017 | The Topeka Capital-Journal | homes.cjonline.com
Birds: Taking down your feeder if a hawk appears in your yard could be wise move Continued from 2
yard, but there is the possibility of attracting more. If you can’t find a feeder squirrels can’t reach, you may have to accept squirrels as part of your wildlife entertainment. Sometimes, with a plethora of birds, come predatory hawks. Although most people wouldn’t enjoy seeing a hawk prey upon sweet little birds, it’s part of their natural ecosystem. The protective structures previously mentioned will allow birds to hide if a hawk does appear. If a full circleof-life moment isn’t what
you’re interested in watching, take your feeder down for a few days and the hawk should move on. Glass is also an enemy to birds, especially if you have a large window. Placing feeders and bird baths within 3 feet of a window encourages birds to slow down in order to land on these structures and when they take off again, their speeds will be slow enough that hitting the window shouldn’t be fatal. Once you’ve attracted birds to your yard, consider investing in binoculars and an identification manual. “The Guide to Kansas Birds
and Birding Hotspots” (Bob Gress and Pete Janzen) is a good beginner’s guide to bird identification. “Birds of Kansas” (Thompson, Ely, Gress, Otte, Patti, Seibel & Young) isn’t a field guide, but it is an excellent source of additional information about birds. Watching and enjoying the goings-on of birds is a fun winter activity for all. By providing food, water, shelter and an appropriate habitat, your yard will be a hub for local birds and other wildlife. Ariel Whitely-Noll is the horticulture agent for Shawnee County Research homes.cjonline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | Saturday, July 29, 2017 | 9
Service Directory
Subscribers = All-Access Members
Activate NOW
where local lives ALL ACCESS | ALL PLATFORMS | ALL CONTENT
www.cjonline.com/allaccess